SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea hit an all-time high in December, as corporate dollar savings increased, central bank data showed Wednesday. Residents’ outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits had come to US$110.98 billion as of end-December, up $3.59 billion from the previous month, according to the data from [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Household loans extended by banks in South Korea declined for the first time in 18 years last year, due mainly to higher borrowing costs, the central bank’s data showed Thursday. Banks’ outstanding household loans decreased by 2.6 trillion won (US$2.09 billion) to 1,058.1 trillion won, according to the data [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Banks’ rates charged on new household loans in November hit the highest level in over a decade, affected by the central bank’s aggressive rate increases to tame inflation, data showed Friday. Banks’ household lending rate applied to new loans last month stood at 5.57 percent per annum on average, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Five major South Korean banks have offered a voluntary retirement program to their 2,400 employees this year despite record profits amid higher interest rates, industry sources said Sunday. The voluntary retirement plans at the five lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and NH Nonghyup – are accelerating as [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — To bring higher satisfaction to customers and to protect the environment, South Korea’s banking industry is changing how new year calendars for customers are distributed. Woori Bank, for example, made its 2023 calendar using eco-friendly paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. To ensure easy recycling, the triangular stand [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s largest commercial banks, said Wednesday it will be releasing a new installment savings plan that will provide a high annual interest rate of up to 11 percent for those who walk more than 10,000 steps a day. The availability of this installment savings [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Banks in South Korea earned record net interest income in the first three quarters of the year, helped by sharp rate hikes by the central bank, data showed Thursday. Their interest revenue in the January-September period stood at a combined 40.6 trillion won (US$30.3 billion), up 6.9 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean lender Hana Bank announced that it has converted its closed branch in Seoul’s central Euljiro neighborhood into a complex cultural space called H.art1 through remodeling. H.art1 consists of four floors. On the first floor are installed ATMs and cafes. On the second floor, about 110 artworks [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean online lender K-Bank said Monday its net profit hit a record high in the third quarter on higher operational efficiency and stayed in the black for five straight quarters. Net profit stood at 25.6 billion won (US$18.2 million) in the July-September period, up 52.4 percent from a [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean online lender Kakao Bank said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit hit a record high this year on growth in interest revenue. Consolidated net profit stood at 78.7 billion won (US$55.4 million) in the July-September period, up 51.39 percent from a profit of 52 billion won a year [...]